ARMM opens human rights office in Sayyaf areas

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has opened its Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC) field office to prevent alleged human rights abuses during crackdown operations against Abu Sayyaf militants.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman  led the opening RHRC center here,  which will cater directly  to the areas of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi where alleged abuses against civilians were reported.

“The effort here is to stop the reported series of illegal arrest or disappearance of individuals,” Hataman said.

He said the establishment of the ARMM RHRC is based on a provision mandating regional government and regional legislative assembly to organize a regional commission on human rights where the chairman and the members of the commission must be appointed by the president.

Hataman said the regional CHR is the same as the national CHR office because the former adopted the mandate of the latter.

He said the funding for the operation of the RHRC will come from the ARMM regional government. However, Hataman proposed to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to directly give the RHRC its funds to ensure the agency's independence.

The RHRC will have field-based investigators and monitoring units to ensure reports of human rights abuses will be  recorded,  said ARMM CHR chairperson Laisa Masuhud Alamia.

“We don’t wait for a complainant because we have established a communication network with CSO (civil society organization) on the ground,” Alamia said.

She said their office would also address the issues of extra-judicial killing, forced disappearance and mistaken identity cases mentioned raised by the Ulama group and civil society organizations. - Roel Pareño